Scott Nickerson
Elmore Autauga News
Stanhope Elmore Football defensive back Jay Stone signed with Jacksonville State on Friday. The Gamecocks are a Division 1 program that compete in Conference USA. They made the Salute to Veterans Bowl in Montgomery this past season and defeated Troy 17-13, finishing with a 9-5 record.
“The development and the program in general was a huge part of my decision,” said Stone. The defensive back played in 19 career games for the Mustangs. He had 9 interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff for a touchdown. Stone had 162 tackles total, 89 of which were solo, with 17 tackles for loss. He also defended 13 passes and forced three fumbles.
“Coach (Charles) Kelly was the most influential in my decision,” said Stone. The veteran coach has 35 years of coaching experience. Prior to being named Head Coach at Jacksonville State, Coach Kelly was the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Auburn University. In 2023, Coach Kelly was at Colorado under the coaching staff of Deion Sanders. He also spent four seasons at the University of Alabama under Coach Nick Saban, and was on the staff during Alabama’s 2020 national championship season.
Stone plans to visit Jacksonville State during their spring game, and contribute as much as possible during his time in Jacksonville.
“My freshman year I plan on mainly capitalizing on all opportunities and showing I belong,” said Stone. “I plan on majoring in Kinesiology and going to become a physician assistant.”
